Regenerative Farming, Hemp Fiber and the Future of Food | Steve Groff, Cedar Meadow Farm

Send us Fan MailWhat if the future of health starts in the soil?In this episode of Ready To Drink, Nate Fochtman sits down with Steve Groff, CEO of Cedar Meadow Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a third-generation farmer who started no-till in 1982 and never looked back. Steve breaks down regenerative agriculture in plain language, why “mimic nature” is more than a buzzword and how practices like no-till, cover crops and biodiversity change water infiltration, resilience and nutrient density.Then we go deeper into hemp: why hemp fiber is a “hand in a glove” fit for regenerative systems, how broken contracts and regulatory uncertainty have put the industry in a holding pattern, and why building the processing + equipment ecosystem is the real bottleneck (not farmer interest). Steve also shares a Penn State / Hershey Medical Center research story on cannabinoid profiles and how growing conditions may influence outcomes.If you care about food, farming, hemp, health, and what it takes to build long-term in a short-term world, this is the episode.Topics covered: - The 1982 shift: why Steve stopped tilling and what changed over time - Soil biology, the “micro herd,” and what it means for food quality - Water infiltration, extreme weather, and resilience vs efficiency - Hemp fiber economics: processing gaps, equipment reality, and scale - Why the industry is stuck in “pause mode” and what unlocks investment - Regenerative certification vs greenwashing - Thinking generationally in a quarterly cultureSteve Groff: SteveGroff.comNate Fochtman: FMGStrategy.comReady To Drink Podcast is produced and distributed by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.comSupport the showPresented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com